caring Communication

What is the National Positive
Staff Engagement Forum?
We are setting up a National Forum for Staff
Engagement which will have two connected
parts. This will include representatives from
different parts of the organisation who are
working directly on the staff engagement
agenda so that we can co-ordinate efforts.
This will be a group which is a representative
sample of all staff working in HSE i.e.
including staff from all grades and levels
across the organisation to provide feedback
and ideas about what’s important to staff,
proof plans and give suggestions about how
to introduce change in a way that will ensure
staff can be involved.
We’d love you to join us! In the course of our
work in this area, we have been very inspired
by people’s willingness to get involved! So no
matter where you work in the organisation if
you’re interested in finding out more, please
contact: Libby Kinneen, National Lead Staff
Engagement (HR), Libby.Kinneen@hse.ie
091-775953
what’s been happening so far?
In recent months, the focus on staff engagement
has grown throughout the organisation,
for example in HR with the publication
of the People Strategy, in Health and Wellbeing
with Operation Transformation (see page
20 for more information) and in the Quality
Improvement Division (QID) with pilots of
Schwartz Rounds, Front Line Ownership and
Staff Listening Sessions.
Positive staff engagement is an essential
element of quality improvement and person
centred care. QID, in conjunction with
HR, have been partnering with a number of
services to test and develop methodologies
to support staff engagement, help build organisational
leadership capacity and share
learning. One of the key principles of quality
improvement is to work with the willing and
the services profiled below showcase two
projects happening at the moment - Staff Listening
Sessions and Schwartz Rounds. In the
next edition of Health Matters, we’ll update
you on Front Line Ownership.
Staff Listening Sessions
We believe strongly that each individual
working in the service has a unique insight
into the challenges faced by their service and
know what can be improved. This knowledge
also means that staff are often best placed
to identify creative, practical and sustainable
solutions when given the time to do so. This
happens in some services already, however,
it’s usually on an informal basis.
In 2015, the Quality Improvement Division
designed and commenced testing a Staff
Listening methodology. Listening sessions
provide an opportunity for staff to share experiences
and their ideas on how to improve
their service. The sessions also create a platform
for staff to work with Senior Managers
to review and act on the top three pieces of
feedback.
Following the sessions, the facilitators
present all of the information to the management
team for discussion, action planning and
quality improvement by management and
staff. Tony O’Brien, Director General is also
supporting this work and will receive the top
suggestions from staff which will be included
in the InSpire Hub.
196 staff in Kerry General Hospital and
Cavan Monaghan Hospital participated in the
sessions which were facilitated by QID and
HR staff. 100pc of staff in KGH and 97pc in
Cavan Monaghan who completed the evaluation
form recommended that the sessions
continue. In 2016, the pilot will be extended to
include two sites in Primary Care and Mental
Health before it is evaluated.
Schwartz Rounds
When we talk about staff engagement, staff
wellbeing is vital. Whatever your profession,
there is a good possibility that your training
did not cover how to manage the emotional
aspects of care and this impacts us all regardless
of your role in the service. While we
have the Employee Assistance Programme
which provides free confidential counselling
for staff, and there is debriefing for critical
incidents, we rely often on the support of colleagues
to help us cope with the day to day.
We don’t always avail of these supports which
can lead to compassion fatigue and burnout.
Schwartz Rounds provide an opportunity for
staff from all disciplines across a healthcare
organisation to reflect on the emotional aspects
of their work. The structured, monthly
meetings provide an opportunity to have
lunch together and share stories of our experiences.
Each round is based on the story of
a particular patient, or a theme and is briefly
presented by 2 or 3 members of staff involved
in the care of the patient. This is followed
by a facilitated discussion which involves
the wider audience and is an opportunity to
share, support and listen. Schwartz Rounds
provide a framework which has been proven
to improve staff wellbeing, resilience and
teamwork which ultimately has an impact on
improved patient centred care.
In 2015, the Quality Improvement Division
engaged the Point of Care Foundation to licence,
train and mentor staff in the Blackrock
Hospice and the Galway University Hospital
to test the introduction of Schwartz Rounds in
an Irish context. To date, eight staff members
have been trained and in the coming months
they will facilitate 10 rounds on each site. The
teams rely on the multidisciplinary steering
group on each site to provide an insight into
the type of rounds to hold and to suggest potential
panellists. The steering group also has
the added responsibility of ensuring that the
organisation supports the rounds by releasing
staff to participate etc. We hope this gives
you an insight into the type of work we have
started. For more information about this or
any of our other work, please contact: Maureen
Flynn, Director of Nursing and Midwifery,
Quality Improvement Division, maureena.
flynn@hse.ie/01-6352344 or Juanita Guidera,
QID Lead Staff Engagement, juanita.guidera@hse.ie/052-6191237.
Tune in to the next
edition where we’ll give you an insight into the
work happening in Kerry General Hospital on
Front Line Ownership (FLO)!
MAIN PHOTO: Staff in the Blackrock Hospice who
participated in the first Schwartz Rounds! TOP:
Catherine Anne Field – Lecturer, Discipline of Health
Promotion, NUI Galway / Schwartz Round Facilitator;
Irene Maguire - Senior Physiotherapist, GUH
/ Schwartz Round Facilitator; Jean Kelly - Interim
Chief Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Saolta University
Health Care Group; Dr Sean Dinneen – Head
of School Medicine, NUI Galway and Consultant
Endocrinologist and Schwartz Round Clinical Lead,
GUH; Siobhán Murphy, Administrator, Chief Academic
Office, GUH; Olive Gallagher, Patient Advice
and Liaison Service Coordinator, GUH.
spring 2016 | health matters | 45